McGehee's hit gives Brewers 4-3 win over Reds

Video

CINCINNATI (AP) -- The Cincinnati Reds will be packing their bags
for their first playoff game in 15 years.

Casey McGehee hit a grounder that caromed off second baseman
Brandon Phillips in the 11th inning, driving in Corey Hart and
sending the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-3 victory Friday night that
ensured Cincinnati will begin the postseason on the road.

With one out and runners on the corners, McGehee hit a bouncer
up the middle off Jordan Smith that went off Phillips' chest and
into short center field. Hart scampered home to give Milwaukee a
4-3 lead.

Phillips said he was screened by second base umpire Mike DiMuro.
It was ruled an error then changed to a hit by the official
scorer after the game.

"Once I saw it, it was almost past me," said Phillips, the 2008
Gold Glove winner. "I still almost caught it. It's something
that just happened."

Manager Dusty Baker figured something odd happened.

"Brandon makes that play 99 times out of a hundred," Baker said.

The NL Central champion Reds needed a win to maintain any hope
of finishing the regular season with the second-best record
among the league's three division champions. Now, Cincinnati
will open its first playoff series since 1995 at top-seeded
Philadelphia or the winner of the West.

Mike McClendon (2-0) pitched a perfect 10th to get the win and
John Axford finished for his 24th save in 27 opportunities.
Axford struck out Jonny Gomes with runners on first and second
to end the game.

Travis Wood pitched 6 1-3 innings to bolster his chance of
making Cincinnati's postseason rotation. He allowed three runs
and three hits.

Rickie Weeks hit a one-out drive to center in the sixth for
Milwaukee's first hit, cutting Cincinnati's lead to 2-1. It was
Weeks' 29th homer.

Drew Stubbs tripled and scored on Phillips' sacrifice fly in the
sixth, but the Brewers tied it with two runs in the seventh.

McGehee doubled with one out and Lorenzo Cain followed with a
single, moving McGehee to third and chasing Wood. Pinch-hitter
Craig Counsell greeted Logan Ondrusek with a run-scoring single
and Matt Lucroy added a tying sacrifice fly.

Sam LeCure (2-5) started the 11th for the Reds and allowed both
of his batters to reach. It was only his second appearance since
Sept. 22.

Baker, who said before the game he needed to get some innings
for some of his relievers before the postseason, ended up using
eight of them.

"They've been doing a great job," he said, pointing out that
Ryan Braun's walk against Nick Masset in the eighth was the
first allowed by the Reds bullpen in a combined 10 1-3 innings.
"Some of those guys needed some work, so that part of the
mission was accomplished."

Mark Rogers pitched five innings for Milwaukee, yielding two
runs and two hits. He also struck out six and walked none.

"Rogers had a pretty impressive outing," Milwaukee manager Ken
Macha said. "He only gave up two hits. He just needs to pitch.
He has good velocity and hides the ball very well. He's
confident in his stuff."

Gomes singled with one out in the fifth for Cincinnati's first
hit. He stole second, moved to third on Ramon Hernandez's
infield hit and scored on Paul Janish's suicide squeeze to give
the Reds a 2-0 lead.

The Reds grabbed the lead in the first, manufacturing the first
run allowed by Rogers in six innings over four appearances since
being promoted from Double-A Huntsville on Sept. 10. Stubbs drew
a leadoff walk, stole second and moved to third on Phillips'
groundout before Joey Votto hit a sacrifice fly.

Rogers' strong outing will send the rookie into the offseason on
a high note.

"It was great," he said. "It was a lot of fun. I felt more
confident this time. I had a better idea of what to expect. I'm
happy. I gave my team a chance to win."

NOTES: The Reds might send some players who don't make the
division series roster to Arizona to stay sharp in case they're
needed to replace injured players or for subsequent series,
Baker said before the game. ... Weeks was hit by a pitch for the
25th time, tying Fernando Vina for the single-season franchise
record. Vina set the record in 1998. ... Prince Fielder's
fourth-inning walk for Milwaukee was his 111th of the season,
breaking the franchise record he set in 2009 ... The Reds are
5,204 fans short of reaching two million in paid attendance for
the 22nd time in franchise history and second in the last three
seasons. They topped two million in 2008. ... Milwaukee LHP Zach
Braddock broke his left pinky finger while shagging balls in the
outfield during batting practice.